


Hunter. Leader. Father. Friend.

by TheLOAD



Series: Hunters AU [7]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Funeral, Gen, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-04-06
Packaged: 2018-03-21 14:59:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3696668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLOAD/pseuds/TheLOAD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tradition dictated that a Hunter be returned to Fire when he died, because Fire was what had first gifted men with the power to hunt.</p>
<p>AKA: Ryan's Funeral</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hunter. Leader. Father. Friend.

**Author's Note:**

> In case you didn't know, this was inspired by Stoick's Funeral in HTTYD 2. Like most of my other sad oneshots, it was written to torment a friend on tumblr.
> 
> I'll get to writing the prequel soon I promise.

Tradition dictated that a Hunter be returned to Fire when he died, because Fire was what had first gifted men with the power to hunt. But Ryan had come from across the sea, and had never gotten the chance to visit his homeland, so Geoff thought a pyre at sea was more appropriate. It would be the closest Ryan would come to resting on the land of his ancestors and Geoff thought it seemed right.

 

Few people had come, which didn’t surprise Geoff that much. Though Ryan had improved as time went on, he had never been able to fully shake his old blood-lust, and the title of Mad King would follow him into the history books. The few people who had gathered, The Hunters, King Hullum, Griffon, Alex, their son James, who despite only being five already looked like Ryan in Geoff’s eyes, and a few of Ryan’s loyalest men, seemed enough. Ryan wouldn’t have wanted anything too flashy. His death alone had been impressive enough, shot down by too many poisoned Ender arrows. The war had been Ryan’s this time, and The Tower had offered him no such protection. An arrow had found its way to Ryan’s heart and the king had fallen without so much as a sigh.

With the help of Jack Geoff pushed the boat out into the water, watching as it floated away for a moment before backing away to retrieve his bow, speaking the parting words as he did so.

“May the Hunters of Old welcome you and guide you through Persson’s great battlefield.” The words came out empty and hollow, laced with a fresh sort of pain as Geoff pulled free an arrow and walked to the fire, watching as the body of his friend drifted away. “May they sing your name with love and fury, so that we might hear it rise from the depths of Vahlaha and know that you’ve taken your rightful place at the table of kings.” A hiccuping sob came from the group, though Geoff didn’t know from whom, and it made the old warrior realize that his own cheeks were damp with tears. He all but stepped in the fire, lighting the arrow and not caring when the flames singed his hands. Nothing could hurt him now as much as Ryan’s death had.

“For a great man has fallen: A Hunter.” No matter how far he had strayed, no matter what he had done, Ryan would always have been a Hunter to Geoff. “A Leader.” Geoff recognized a choked sob from one of Ryan’s men, as well as one from Griffon, and fought to swallow one of his own. “A Father.” Poor James would be king now, though Alex would need to deal with most of the actual duties. There was a dull ache in Geoff’s chest when he realized that Ryan would never get to see his son become a man, and that James would grow to adulthood without his father. Failing to swallow another lump in his throat Geoff lifted the arrow high, letting it go and watching as it arced and landed in the center of the pyre, starting the burning. “A Friend.”

More arrows flew, accompanied of sobs of their own, the loudest coming from The Hunters. Too many unspoken regrets, too many years of doubt building up. The mourning of a friendship lost for too long and seemingly rekindle too late. Geoff had expected to go before any of his men, expected that they would need to light his pyre. He never thought he would be standing at the bank of the sea watching the smoke and ash drift up into the breeze as the currents carried Ryan’s body away from him.


End file.
